SAN ANTONIO — Ventura R. Rodriguez was remembered as a gentle, affectionate man, a father who never swore, never fought anyone and always believed in working and spending time with his family.

“He was always there to help us,” his daughter Sylvia Tapia said.

Rodriguez died Aug. 2. He was 82.

In December 1952, Rodriquez was drafted into the Army and served two years. After his stint, he transferred into the Air Force Reserves and served an additional three years.

“That old man was my hero,” said oldest son Ramiro Rodriguez.

His father came home in September 1954, and that month met his future wife of 60 years, Gloria.

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After two months of dating, the couple married in November.

“They were very happy together, and they never fought,” his son said. “If they ever disagreed on anything, one went to one room and the other went to another room, and after awhile they'd be happy again.”

The newlyweds moved to Chicago for a couple of years, where Ventura Rodriguez was offered a job. But they moved back to the Alamo City, where they could begin their family.

A few years after the birth of their first born, the trio moved to Los Angeles and lived there for about 10 years.

Rodriguez worked for the Union Pacific Railroad company but traveled back to San Antonio in search of more job opportunities.

Her father spent 17 years with the Miller Curtain Co. and other jobs until retirement.

Fridays were special days for the family, Tapia recalled.

“'We're going somewhere, get dressed,'” she remembered her father telling her and her brothers. “We'd go out to eat, go downtown, then to Brackenridge Park, where we'd sit at a bench and have a picnic.”

Ramiro Rodriguez recently spent a lot of time with his father. “Before he passed, I took him to the park and we'd barbecue by ourselves.... He loved being outdoors,” his son said.